It was a costly failure, but it still looked cool.
Slip and slide
It's true, Astra Space's first rocket launch after it went public wasn't exactly as planned.
After a delay of a day, the two-stage LV0006 rocket launched on Saturday afternoon from Kodiak's Pacific Spaceport Complex. However, an engine failure meant that the rocket slipped off the launch pad.
Abort Mission
The rocket eventually gained altitude. The rocket's initial slide was a sign of what would eventually be a failure launch. Two minutes and 28 seconds into flight, the flight safety crew stalled engines when they saw a piece of the LV0006 detached from the rocket.
Although it wasn't able to put anything into orbit, it was an experience that taught us a lot, Chris Kemp, founder and CEO of Astra, told CNBC. Later, he said that we have a lot of data from the flight and were in the process reviewing it.
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Make costly mistakes
This launch was part of Astra Spaces' contract with the US Space Force for testing the rockets payload. It is the latest in a string of failures for Astra Spaces.
One of the Astras rockets was damaged by a glitch in its guidance system and crashed into the ground early last year. CNBC reports that the rocket's last mission was in December. It ran out of fuel and couldn't reach orbit.
Launch failures and rocket explosions (*cough* SpaceX*cough*) are normal parts of the game. Engineers can actually gather lots of data and insight to improve future launches if things go wrong.
Astra wants to be a more successful launcher in the future. It's embarrassing and it's also affecting their finances. After Friday's delay, shares in the company plunged more than 10%.
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READ MORE: Astra rocket makes a smooth slide, before reaching orbit [The Verge]
SpaceX ignored FAA warnings before massive starship explosion
